The detection of the level of glucose or other analytes, such as lactate, oxygen or the like, in certain individuals is vitally important to their health. For example, the monitoring of glucose is particularly important to individuals with diabetes. Diabetics may need to monitor glucose levels to determine when insulin is needed to reduce glucose levels in their bodies or when additional glucose is needed to raise the level of glucose in their bodies.
Devices have been developed for continuous or automatic monitoring of analytes, such as glucose, in bodily fluid such as in the blood stream or in interstitial fluid. Some of these analyte measuring devices are configured so that at least a portion of the devices are positioned below a skin surface of a user, e.g., in a blood vessel or in the subcutaneous tissue of a user.
Following the sensor insertion, the resulting potential trauma to the skin and/or underlying tissue, for example, by the sensor introducer and/or the sensor itself, may, at times, result in instability of signals monitored by the sensor. This may occur in a number of analyte sensors, but not in all cases. This instability is characterized by a decrease in the sensor signal, and when this occurs, generally, the analyte levels monitored may not be reported, recorded or output to the user.